Justine C. Lee, MD, PhD
About
Justine C. Lee, MD, PhD, FACS is a Professor, Associate Chief, and the Bernard G. Sarnat Endowed Chair in Craniofacial Biology in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. She is a nationally recognized expert in facial gender-affirming surgery, craniofacial surgery, and regenerative biomaterials, and is the founding Director of the UCLA Facial Gender-Affirming Surgery Fellowship.
Clinically, Dr. Lee specializes in facial feminization surgery (FFS) and gender-affirming craniofacial procedures, reconstruction of congenital craniofacial conditions, including congenital ear anomalies, cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis, microtia, craniofacial microsomia, and facial aesthetic surgery. Her surgical practice integrates reconstructive and aesthetic techniques, with a focus on patient-centered aesthetic, functional, psychosocial, and quality-of-life outcomes. Her guiding philosophy is to combine aesthetics with reconstruction.
Dr. Lee is a surgeon-scientist whose research program spans basic and clinical investigation. Her laboratory focuses on regenerative biomaterials, craniofacial bone regeneration, and mechanotransduction-driven tissue engineering, with the goal of developing surgically practical, point-of-care regenerative biomaterials for reconstruction of bony defects of the facial skeleton. In 2024, she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on early-career scientists and engineers. Her research is supported by multiple federal grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In parallel, Dr. Lee leads a robust clinical research program focused on optimizing surgical and psychosocial outcomes following craniofacial and facial gender-affirming surgery, integrating patient-reported outcomes with biologic and structural measures of reconstruction. Her work has been widely presented at national and international scientific meetings and has contributed to advances in both craniofacial surgery and regenerative medicine.
Dr. Lee completed her MD and PhD degrees at the University of Chicago in the prestigious NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program. She then completed a combined plastic and reconstructive surgery residency training at the University of Chicago. She then returned to her hometown of Los Angeles and her undergraduate alma mater for advanced fellowship training in craniofacial surgery at UCLA as the 34th Henry Kawamoto Craniofacial Fellow. She joined the UCLA faculty following fellowship and has held sustained leadership roles in education, research, and national professional societies.
Clinical Interests:
- Facial Gender-Affirming Surgery
- Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS)
- Congenital Ear Anomalies
- Microtia
- Craniofacial Microsomia and Goldenhar Syndrome
- Cleft Lip and Palate
- Cleft Rhinoplasty
- Craniosynostosis
- Facial Clefts
- Facial Aesthetics: Facelift, Blepharoplasty, Rhinoplasty, Fat Graft, Injectables
Research Interests:
- Justine Lee Lab research website
- Bone Regeneration
- Biomimetic Materials
- Clinical Outcomes for Craniofacial Surgery
- Technological Advances in Craniofacial Surgery
Languages
Education
Medical Board Certification
Fellowship
Residency
Degree
Recognitions
- Super doctors, Southern California, 2025
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Top doctors, Los Angeles Magazine's Top Doctors 2025
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LGBTQ+ champion
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on early-career scientists and engineers
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2025
- Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2024, 2025
- See More
Locations
Hospital Affiliations
Medical Services
Areas of Focus
Videos
Research
Interests
- Lee Lab website
- Materials-Based Tissue Engineering for Skull Regeneration
- Outcomes in Congenital Craniofacial Anomalies
- Outcomes in Facial Reconstruction for Gender Confirmation
- Autologous Total Ear Reconstruction
- Cleft Lip and Palate
- Rare Craniofacial Syndromes
- Tissue Engineering
Publications
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Osteoprotegerin reduces osteoclast resorption activity without affecting osteogenesis on nanoparticulate mineralized collagen scaffolds.
Ren X, Zhou Q, Foulad D, Tiffany AS, Dewey MJ, Bischoff D, Miller TA, Reid RR, He TC, Yamaguchi DT, Harley BAC, Lee JC. Sci Adv. 2019 Jun 12;5(6):eaaw4991. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw4991. PMID: 31206025 -
Correlating Material Properties to Osteoprotegerin Expression on Nanoparticulate Mineralized Collagen Glycosaminoglycan Scaffolds.
Chen W, Bedar M, Zhou Q, Ren X, Kang Y, Huang KX, Rubino G, Kolliopoulos V, Moghadam S, Cascavita CT, Taylor JM, Chevalier JM, Harley BAC, Lee JC. Adv Healthc Mater. 2024 Oct;13(26):e2401037. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202401037. Epub 2024 Jun 24. -
Osteogenesis on nanoparticulate mineralized collagen scaffolds via autogenous activation of the canonical BMP receptor signaling pathway.
Ren X, Bischoff D, Weisgerber DW, Lewis MS, Tu V, Yamaguchi DT, Miller TA, Harley BA, Lee JC. Biomaterials. 2015 May;50:107–114. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.01.059. PMID: 25736501 -
Orai1 Is Required for Osteogenic Differentiation on Nanoparticulate Mineralized Collagen Glycosaminoglycan Materials.
Bedar M, Chen W, Ren X, Moghadam S, Kang Y, Shariati K, Huang KX, Rubino G, Harley BAC, Lee JC. Macromol Biosci. 2025 Nov;25(11):e00636. doi: 10.1002/mabi.202400636. PMID: 40653607 -
Early Alveolar Bone Grafting Is Associated with Lower Regraft Rates and Improvements in Long-Term Psychosocial Outcomes.
Hu AC, Jain NS, Chan CH, Malapati SH, Dang BN, Bertrand AA, Squitieri L, Wilson LF, Lee JC. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2022 Jan 1;149(1):60e–67e. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000008646. PMID: 34936621 -
Long-Term Effect of Multiple Operations on Psychosocial Function in Teenage Cleft Lip and Palate Patients.
Potemra HMK, Lin J, Bertrand AA, De Leon FS, Alford JA, Hu AC, Wilson L, Lee JC. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2020 Jul;146(1):61e–68e. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000006905. PMID: 32590656 -
Analysis of Craniofacial Microsomia and Facial Asymmetry: Approaches in Facial Feminization Surgery.
Huang KX, Cascavita CT, Shariati K, Hall AE, Argame AA, Taki Labib MA, Taylor JM, Nguyen NH, Lee JC. Aesthet Surg J. 2025 Oct 10:sjaf191. doi: 10.1093/asj/sjaf191. PMID: 41070876 -
Mind Over Scalpel: Effectiveness of Preoperative Surgical Education.
Hall AE, Perrotta AT, Argame AA, Shariati K, Miller MN, Patel AK, Tseng CH, Hidalgo MA, Lee JC. J Am Coll Surg. 2025 Sep 4. doi: 10.1097/XCS.0000000000001617. PMID: 40905537 -
The Impact of Psychological Prehabilitation on Surgical Outcomes: A Meta-analysis and Meta-regression.
Hall AE, Nguyen NH, Cascavita CT, Shariati K, Patel AK, Chen W, Kang Y, Ren X, Tseng CH, Hidalgo MA, Lee JC. Ann Surg. 2025 Jun 1;281(6):928–941. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000006677. -
Effect of Gender-affirming Facial Feminization Surgery on Psychosocial Outcomes.
Caprini RM, Oberoi MK, Dejam D, Chan CH, Potemra HMK, Morgan KBJ, Weimer A, Litwin MS, Mendelsohn AH, Lee JC. Ann Surg. 2023 May 1;277(5):e1184–e1190. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005472. -
Virtual Modeling in Gender-Affirming Facial Masculinization Surgery.
Moghadam S, LaGuardia JS, Chin MG, Huang KX, Bedar M, Lee JC. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2024 Dec 1;154(6):1229e–1232e. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000011336. PMID: 39591366 -
Simplifying Facial Feminization Surgery Using Virtual Modeling on the Female Skull.
Hoang H, Bertrand AA, Hu AC, Lee JC. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2020 Mar 20;8(3):e2618. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002618. PMID: 32537324
In the News
- Dr. Lee was quoted in the news article, What Is a Cleft Lip and Palate?
- Dr. Lee was interviewed by the DIEP End podcast
- The Daily Bruin features Dr. Lee and the annual UCLA Craniofacial Anomalies Picnic!
- Dr. Lee receives the 2016 Plastic Surgery Faculty Teaching Award
- Dr. Lee named the Bernard G. Sarnat Endowed Chair in Craniofacial Biology
- Dr. Lee's research featured in Plastic Surgery News - June 2015
*Note: Links may expire without warning
Insurance
- Aetna
- Anthem Blue Cross
- Blue Shield of California
- Centivo
- Cigna
- First Health
- Health Net of California
- Interplan (part of HealthSmart)
- Medicare Advantage
- MultiPlan
- UFCM Health System
- Prime Health Services
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- TRICARE
- UnitedHealthcare
The list of health care plans above may not be comprehensive and could change.
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Recognitions
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on early-career scientists and engineers
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2025
- Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2024, 2025
Endowed Chair
- Bernard G. Sarnat Endowed Chair in Craniofacial Biology
Grants
- American Society of Plastic Surgeons/Plastic Surgery Foundation Research Grant (#1070388). Phosphate-Eluting Composite Biomaterials for Skull Regeneration. Role: Principal Investigator, 2023-2024
- R01 DE029234, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Osteoclast Modulatory Biomaterials for Skull Regeneration. Role: Principal Investigator, 2020-2026
- Preclinical Evaluation of Nanoparticulate Mineralized Collagen Glycosaminoglycan Materials in Calvarial Regeneration. Role: Principal Investigator, 2019-2024
- IK2 BX002442-01A2 Career Development Award-2, Veteran’s Administration. Human Bone Engineering and Resorption in a Novel Mineralized Collagen Scaffold, 2015-2020
- Jean Perkins Foundation. Biomaterials and osteoclast activation in bone tissue engineering. Role: Principal Investigator, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
- American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons/Musculoskeletal Foundation Research Award. Harnessing the Osteogenic Impact of Calcium and Phosphate Minerals on Stem Cells. Role: Faculty Sponsor (Trainee: David Foulad, MD), 2018
- R01 DE028098, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
- American Society for Plastic Surgeons/Plastic Surgery Foundation Research Grant (#234813). Osteoclast mediated Resorption of Engineered Bone. Principal Investigator, 2014
- Jean Perkins Foundation. Biomaterials and osteoclast activation in bone tissue engineering, 2014
- American Society for Plastic Surgeons/Plastic Surgery Foundation Research Grant (#274376). Remote Ischemic Preconditioning's effect on Fat Graft volume. Principal Investigator. (Trainee: Andrew Gassman, MD, Plastic Surgery resident), 2013
- Jean Perkins Foundation. Biomaterials and osteoclast activation in bone tissue engineering, 2012
Research Awards
- Clinical Research Award, 2017, 2019
- American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association.
Age Related Differences in Psychosocial Function of Children with Craniofacial Anomalies. Mentee: Elizabeth Volpicelli - American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association.
Long-Term Psychosocial Effects of Number of Childhood Surgeries in Teenagers with Cleft Lip and Palate. Mentee: Fransia De Leon - Illinois Society for Plastic Surgery Chief Resident Paper Competition, First Prize, 2012
- American Society for Plastic Surgery Senior Resident Conference, Tampa: Best Microsurgery Paper, 2012
- American Society for Plastic Surgery, Toronto: Outstanding Paper Presentation, 2010
- Frank Fellowship, 2002-2006
- Doolittle-Harrison Fellowship, 2004
- Committee on Immunology Graduate Student Poster Award, 2002
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Undergraduate Research Award, 1999
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Fellowship, 1998-1999
- Howard Hughes Honors Undergraduate Fellowship, 1998
- University of California President’s Undergraduate Fellowship, 1997-1998
- Howard Hughes Honors Undergraduate Fellowship, 1997
Academic Honors and Awards
- Super Doctors® Southern California, 2023, 2024
- Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2021
- Steward Rood Section Editor of the Year, 2019
- The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal
- American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association
- Plastic Surgery Foundation Visiting Professor, 2019-2020
- Bernard G. Sarnat Endowed Chair in Craniofacial Biology, 2016
- AOA Eligible Group, 2005
- Phi Beta Kappa, 1999
- Summa cum laude, University of California, Los Angeles, 1999
- Graduated with highest honors, University of California, Los Angeles, 1999
- University of California Regent’s Scholar, 1995-1999
- National Merit Scholar, 1995-1999
- University of California Alumni Scholar, 1995-1999
- California Masonic Foundation Scholar, 1995-1999
- Kiwanis Foundation, 1995-1999
Scholar Teaching Awards
- UCLA Plastic Surgery Faculty Teaching Award, 2016
- Wayne C. Booth Graduate Student Teaching Prize, 2002
- Biological Sciences Division Teaching Award, 2001
- Biological Sciences Division Teaching Award – Honorable Mention, 2000